Jindal signs bill aimed at easing adoption rules

Published 10:31 AM CDT Jun 01, 2013

BATON ROUGE, La. -

As community leaders and legislators rappelled off the roof of a 24-story building in downtown Baton Rouge to bring attention to the number of children in the state's foster care system, Gov. Bobby Jindal was inside signing a bill to make it easier to adopt those children.

The bill, called the Louisiana Has Faith in Families Act, will help pay adoption costs for families, shorten the wait time for adoption procedures and continue child care subsidy payments to families who adopt their foster children, even if the family leaves Louisiana.

State officials say there are nearly 500 children in foster care that are "adoption-ready," meaning they are available to be placed in a permanent home.